Modern mobile devices are rapidly becoming sophisticated sensor platforms in addition to having both communications and media rendering functionality. With the increasing popularity of advanced high-speed wireless services that leverage their capabilities, the daily usage time of mobile devices will continue to increase. As users become more accustomed to anytime/anywhere high speed data network access, the battery life of mobile devices may be a driving factor in determining this usage time. Consequently, the battery life will likely rise in importance as one of the major selling points for individuals making purchasing decisions.
In addition to improvements in battery technology, current efforts to extend battery life focus around various aspects of the design of mobile devices affecting battery consumption. Examples of such efforts can include improvements in the energy efficiency of radio-frequency (RF) components, displays, and digital electronics including various processors and logic circuits.
In parallel to these endeavors, there may be additional room for battery life improvement by managing the power consumption of the sensors utilized within the mobile device. The sensors may include one or more sensors for imaging, positioning, relative motion determination, user-proximity, ambient light determination, user-input, noise cancellation, etc.
Given the increasing number of sensors within the mobile device, and the fact that certain types of sensors may draw a relatively significant amount current (e.g., CCD image sensors), it would be beneficial to implement techniques for managing sensor power consumption, and thus extend the operational time of the battery within a mobile device.